Inland water officials may finally get what they wanted: the opportunity to set their own conservation targets. And that could bring relief to thousands of homeowners who have struggled to cut back and still keep lawns and gardens alive.

After a year of enforcing a 25 percent reduction statewide and some sharper cuts locally, state officials Monday proposed setting aside mandated targets and letting agencies develop their own goals for this summer and fall, citing the wet winter up north that refilled crucial reservoirs.

The State Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to take up the plan May 18.

But don’t start thinking the drought’s over.

Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water Resources, emphasized that the state remains in the throes of a five-year dry spell despite the improved conditions up north.

And, said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board, “This is not a time to start using water like it’s 1999.”

Also on Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order making permanent a temporary ban against the wasteful practices of hosing off sidewalks and driveways, washing cars with hoses not equipped with shut-off nozzles, and letting lawn water run into the street.

Despite the easing of cutbacks, suppliers will have to continue reporting water use to the state and make contingency plans for droughts as long as five years. And new, permanent water-use efficiency standards will have to be developed.

It makes sense to focus on making permanent lifestyle changes, said Deven Upadhyay, group manager of water resource management for the Metropolitan Water District, Southern California’s largest water provider.

“The governor’s announcement today and the executive order is starting to move the conversation a little away from emergency conservation and toward long-term conservation,” he said.

Base it on supply

Local agencies welcomed the change.

“It sounds like we’re going to be able to figure out what works best for our community,” said Kristeen Farlow, a spokeswoman for the Cucamonga Valley Water District, which serves about 200,000 people in Rancho Cucamonga, and portions of Fontana, Upland and Ontario.

“We’re, of course, extremely happy about the news, but cautiously optimistic because you never know what’s going to actually happen,” said Todd Jorgenson, assistant general manager for water for Riverside Public Utilities.

Ditto for the Eastern Municipal Water District, which serves about 600,000 people in the Interstate 215 corridor of Riverside County stretching from Moreno Valley to Murrieta.

It means customers likely won’t have to cut back on lawn watering this summer as intensely as they did in 2015, although Pearson said it was premature to say by how much his district’s conservation target would be reduced. He said the Eastern board will take up the matter in June.

While the April 2015 order called for 25 percent conservation overall statewide, individual targets were assigned to the different agencies. And many Inland agencies were ordered to go beyond that.

Riverside and Eastern were given 28 percent reductions, and Cucamonga Valley was assigned a target of 32 percent. The city of Riverside filed suit to challenge its target.

El Nino didn’t save us

The change in approach comes as the region’s primary provider, giant Metropolitan Water District, is poised to enter the watering season without limiting allocations to agencies it serves. Last year Metropolitan cut allocations by 15 percent.

Metropolitan’s board is set adopt plans for the summer on Tuesday.

Upadhyay said Metropolitan expects to receive much more in the way of State Water Project deliveries of Sierra Nevada water. After three years of drawing down its reserves, Upadhyay said Metropolitan expects to begin building those back up this year.

The most visible reflection of those reserves is Diamond Valley Lake.

The giant lake near Hemet is less than half full today, Upadhyay said. But the water level is rising to the point a boat launch is set to open this month. And by year’s end, it could be two-thirds full, he said.

Sacramento officials also cited the nearly full reservoirs up north that are triggering the boost in deliveries.

“While El Niño didn’t save us, it did help us,” said Marcus, the state water board member.

Not a cake walk

As a result, Marcus said the “blunt instrument” of the 25 percent statewide order is no longer needed.

And, with the water board’s consent later this month, officials intend to allow agencies to self-certify their conservation targets.

But Marcus said agencies will be watched closely to make sure they base targets on real on-the-ground conditions.

“It is not a cake walk,” she said.

Those targets will have to reflect how much water agencies would have to operate with if the next three years matched the last three dry seasons of 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, said Max Gomberg, climate and conservation manager.

If the numbers reveal such conditions would leave a 10 percent shortfall, for example, Gomberg said, then an agency would be required to enforce a 10 percent cutback June through next January.

Dave is a general assignment reporter based in Riverside, writing about a wide variety of topics ranging from drones and El Nino to trains and wildfires. He has worked for five newspapers in four states: Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and California. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Colorado State University in 1981. Loves hiking, tennis, baseball, the beach, the Lakers and golden retrievers. He is from the Denver area.